Seismophobia is the fear of earthquakes. It is considered a branch of catastrophobia (fear of disasters). The fear is usually triggered through traumatic experiences with earthquakes, like a family member died in the quake, or seeing devastating earthquakes on the news. Sufferers may not want to be in the building, even when not living in the earthquake-prone area, because earthquake can often cause buildings to collapse and get buried or crushed.
Symptoms include terror, panic, and dread when feeling an earthquake or even hearing about a devastating earthquake nearby.